(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a panel assembly. More particularly, the present invention relates to a panel assembly having an input function.
(b) Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the demand for display devices such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs) has exploded as these display devices have become smaller and lighter and have increased in performance due to rapidly advancing semiconductor technology. Since LCDs have various advantages, including they are small and light and have low power consumption, LCDs have been drawing attention as a substitute display device that can overcome many of the drawbacks of cathode ray tubes (CRTs). As a result, the LCD may be used in almost all information processing apparatuses that require a display device. For example, the LCD is used in small-sized products such as mobile phones and PDAs (portable digital assistants) that need a display device, as well as medium-sized and large-sized products such as monitors and TVs. In a display device, a touch panel may additionally be attached to a display panel that displays images so that a user can easily use the display device. The touch panel allows the display panel, which has display and output functions, to additionally have an input function, which helps a user easily interact with the information processing apparatus to obtain specific information.
However, a conventional touch panel may be separately manufactured and then mounted on a front surface of the display panel. Therefore, in order to produce a display panel mounted with a touch panel, a problem may arise in that the overall manufacturing process may be complicated, and the productivity thereof is consequently lowered. Further, in the related art, since the touch panel is separately manufactured and is then mounted on the display panel, a problem occurs in that the resolution of the display panel deteriorates due to the touch panel. Furthermore, a problem occurs in that the image quality deteriorates due to degradation of optical characteristic of the touch panel. Still further, since an additional touch panel is mounted on the display panel, a problem occurs in that the display area of the display panel is reduced.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not constitute prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.